This work is by tension between the guidelines of educational policy and theoretical movement of the area, analyze historical and current issues relating to the formation, function and ways of filling the office of the school manager, mainly between the years 1970 and 2000. For this, we used semi-structured interviews conducted in public schools and state, as well as with members of the Faculty of Education at a public university in the State of São Paulo. The analysis, ending up with some pointers, including the possibility of rekindling the discussion, begun in the late 1960s, the need for robust training school manager so he can carry on teacher competence and gained political commitment won over those years and to interact critically and consciously with the guidelines of educational policy.